The Sky Ship and the White Marble
Yesterday, seeing some FB posts suddenly triggered a flashback.
Years ago... after finishing my computer studies, and realizing that teaching or startups wouldn't work out for an average Malayali like me, I boarded the train to this city. It would be more accurate to say that my father put me on that train...
Carrying a computer—the remains of my failed startup attempt—on my head, I got off at Kalasipalyam. It was freezing cold. In those days, this city was cold even at 12 noon.
I stayed with my brother-in-law. His younger brother was there too. They understood the sorrow of an unemployed young man, so they even gave me a separate room. Once they left for work, it was just me and an old Ericsson mobile phone with a 'tail' (antenna)... which only worked occasionally. I would take it and go to browsing centers. I remember 'JobStreet' was the site used to hunt for jobs back then.
Nights turned into days, and days into nights, but nothing happened.
That was when Reliance launched their mobile phones. I was fed up with the antenna phone. I pleaded with my father and finally got a new phone. The SIM was Hutch (Vodafone).
A while later, I received a call. It was from Yeshwanthpur. They needed a System Admin cum Software Developer. I rushed there immediately.
When I reached, I saw it was a computer hardware company. Nobody there knew much about computers, so I got the job.
I met a friend there. His name was the same as mine.. we shared the same date of birth and birth month too. From then on, the journey was with him.
Days passed. I walked around as if I were a big shot there. Everyone had huge respect for me because I was the only one who knew anything about computers... I even built a few web applications.
Suddenly, the call came. The company owner was a Kashmiri. He called me to his cabin. He said the software needed to be set up in the Delhi office and I had to go there for a few months.
Joy exploded in my mind. The 'Sky Ship' (Flight)!
I argued with the Kashmiri boss. He offered me a Third Class AC train ticket... was I going to let that slide? I insisted on nothing less than the 'Sky Ship'. Finally, the boss agreed. Thus, that day arrived.
Back then, HAL was the airport. No need to travel two hours like today... if you walked in the morning, you'd reach the airport. Thus, I boarded the 'Sky Ship' for the first time.
It was Air Deccan. It was evening when we reached Delhi.. I could even see the Qutub Minar from the Sky Ship.
There was a tour from Delhi to Agra... I booked it one day. The route was Agra via Mathura (Krishna's birthplace). We reached Agra and took a horse cart. We walked quite a bit. Where was the White Marble Palace? Suddenly, I saw a gateway. I looked through it and there it was... that white marble wonder... The Taj Mahal. I couldn't take my eyes off it. We only had two hours, or the bus would leave... Once you see that beauty, you can't bring yourself to leave. Shah Jahan gazing at it from the Agra Fort wasn't for nothing.
On the way back, we visited Mathura. They have preserved the prison where Krishna was born just as it was. Including the spot where he was born... it was a special feeling.
Thus, the 'Sky Ship' and the 'White Marble' became a reality.
The End.